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The best way to hold off puberty in girls is...


Barb_
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Believe it or not, fiber.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/12020388/

http://m.ajcn.nutrition.org/content/92/3/556.full

 

Google fiber and menarche for more links. 25mg seems to halve the risk of early menarch (<12yo), which also reduces long term breast cancer risk. I always wondered why my mom, grandma and cousin started at 9-11 and neither I nor my daughters started until 13. Fiber isn't the only factor, but it turns out to be a significant one...more significant than body fat or heredity alone according to this book I'm reading:

Breasts a Natural and Unnatural History

 

Eta: sorry for any wonky links. I'm on my phone.

Edited by Barb F. PA in AZ
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Believe it or not, fiber.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/12020388/

http://m.ajcn.nutrition.org/content/92/3/556.full

 

Google fiber and menarche for more links. 25mg seems to halve the risk of early menarch (<12yo), which also reduces long term breast cancer risk. I always wondered why my mom, grandma and cousin started at 9-11 and neither I nor my daughters started until 13. Fiber isn't the only factor, but it turns out to be a significant one...more significant than body fat or heredity alone according to this book I'm reading:

Breasts a Natural and Unnatural History

Interesting.

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The problem is getting in 25 mg a day! That is insanely hard. A whole apple has less than 5 grams. My daughter doesn't like much oatmeal. Hmmmm

 

Berries are very high in fiber. So are peas, beans and nuts. I buy frosted or cinnamon mini wheats to eat dry for snacks. Whole wheat bread has 4-6 g of fiber for two slices. Whole wheat pasta is also yummy. I also buy Luna Bars and keep them on hand to grab when we are going to be out for a while. They are high in protein and fiber. When I make cookies, pancakes or waffles I use whole wheat flour, or at least half whole wheat flour. Smoothies are a great way to add fiber to the diet. There are lots of ways to sneak extra fiber into the diet. 25g is a good goal, but less than that is beneficial too. Every gram counts.

Edited by Barb F. PA in AZ
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Berries are high in fiber. I buy frosted or cinnamon mini wheats to eat dry for snacks. Whole wheat bread has 4-6 g of fiber for two slices. Whole wheat pasta is also yummy. I also buy Luna Bars and keep them on hand to grab when we are going to be out for a while. They are high in protein and fiber. When I make cookies, pancakes or waffles I use whole wheat flour, or at least half whole wheat flour. Smoothies are a great way to add fiber to the diet. There are lots of ways to sneak extra fiber into the diet. 25g is a good goal, but less than that is beneficial too. Every gram counts.

 

Thanks for the ideas!

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That is interesting. My mom started at age 9, I was 10. Dd is 13 and has not started yet. She is barely just starting puberty. We consume a lot of fiber here. We are dealing with IBS in several kids and encoperesis so fiber is given in high amountss. Interesting that it may be that the fiber holding it off for her.

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Hmmm..... Dd hasn't started yet, but the hormonal changes are in high gear! I've been trying to find a natural way to stabilize her hormones to make the transition a little easier. I wonder if the extra fiber would help with that aspect of it, too?

 

Will definitely be getting a copy of that book. Thanks for the tip!!

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I am interested. Could you just tell us (when you know) what we should do??

 

My list of stuff to read is very long (thanks to the WTM boards!!!) and if you could just give me the cliff's notes I would be appreciative l (when you have them)

 

 

Lara

 

The book is about breasts in general. Breast feeding, toxins, sexuality, history, augmentation, cancer, etc...but one chapter deals with puberty. That was the first I'd ever seen of the fiber-puberty link, so I had to go google it. It's a terrific book and I highly recommend it, but it isn't solely about young girls.

 

The upshot is, look for ways to get extra grams of fiber into the diet whenever possible. That's about it :)

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Well, from what I can guess from the study, it is the amount of phytoestrogens that are the reason this is true. I THINK they are saying more phytoestrogen is better. If that is true, then the type of fiber is important, like more flax seed and soy.

 

Here..this is the site I found the first time around: http://www.funimky.com/research_estrogen.htm is your background in Biology? I'd love to hear what you think. I think I get it, but I'd like an educated opinion.

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Holy moly that is long!!!

I'm no expert but I can muck my way through.

I'll read it tomorrow night.

 

The focus is estrogen, fiber and breast cancer but the discussion applies just as well to puberty. I skimmed all the chemical names that I can't pronounce and focused on the mechanisms. I'm hoping that didnt wreck my understanding.

Edited by Barb F. PA in AZ
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Hmmm, we are late people here (me 14, one dd 14 and one 13). After reading it I would say the advice to eat lots of plant foods in a close natural state is what it breaks down to. That would probably Result in a lower body weight which would also keep puberty at a later age. Is that the gist you got?

Edited by joyofsix
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The problem is getting in 25 mg a day! That is insanely hard. A whole apple has less than 5 grams. My daughter doesn't like much oatmeal. Hmmmm

 

I don't think it's that hard really. Of course her favorite snack is popcorn

 

My 8 yo's fiber intake from yesterday as best I can remember:

2pc ww toast-3.8 g

Orange-3.1

Ww macaroni&cheese 6.2

Strawberries-1.9

Popcorn (she had it afternoon and after supper)-7

Brown rice-1.9

Broccoli-4

Raspberries-2.5

I think that's over 30 g.

Granted if she didn't love popcorn it would be lower but she probably would have had fruit or veggies or ww bread for those snacks and still gotten fiber.

Edited by joyofsix
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The problem is getting in 25 mg a day! That is insanely hard. A whole apple has less than 5 grams. My daughter doesn't like much oatmeal. Hmmmm

 

A peanut butter on whole wheat sandwich with an apple will get her halfway there (5 each in the apple and bread, 2 in the peanut butter). Then she has two more meals for the other 15mg.

 

There's always fiber supplements too.

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Hmmm, we are late people here (me 14, one dd 14 and one 13). After reading it I would say the advice to eat lots of plant foods in a close natural state is what it breaks down to. That would probably Result in a lower body weight which would also keep puberty at a later age. Is that the gist you got?

 

You know, body fat is less correlated to early puberty than fiber fiber according to other sources. It isn't uncommon for a slight girl with low body fat to reach puberty early. Although body fat is a factor contributing to the amount of circulating estrogen, fiber is what cleans it out. I always wondered what was holding my daughter back when she was 5-5 and weighed 125 and wore a c cup bra, Lol

 

ETA and yeah I agree with the first part. Skins on and seeds in are important so canned and jarred fruits, for example aren't going to do much good.

Edited by Barb F. PA in AZ
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